The mitral valve is located between the chambers of the left atrium and the left ventricle. When the left ventricle contracts to pump blood throughout the body, the mitral valve closes to prevent blood from being pumped back into the left atrium. In patients suffering from mitral valve regurgitation the mitral valve fails to properly close upon each contraction due to, for example, genetic malformation, disease, or injury, and blood is pumped back into the atrium. Mitral valve regurgitation is a serious, often rapidly deteriorating, condition that reduces circulatory efficiency.
Two of the more common techniques for restoring damaged mitral valve function are surgical replacement of the valve with a mechanical valve and implantation of a flexible ring around the native valve to support it. Each of these procedures is highly invasive as access to the heart is gained through an opening in the patient's chest. Patients with mitral valve regurgitation are often relatively frail which increases the risks associated with such an invasive operation.
A device to perform mitral valve annuloplasty is therefore needed that can be performed percutaneously without opening the chest wall. The anatomy of the heart and the coronary vasculature, including vessel length and diameter, can vary from patient to patient. Thus, a device to perform mitral valve annuplasty is also needed that can be performed on a variety of patients, regardless of the anatomy of their heart.